N. KOREA FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILE AGAIN

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North Korea again fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea this morning. The provocation came shortly after its foreign minister denounced the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan for agreeing to strengthen military cooperation against North Korean nuclear and missiles threats. The North warned that the U.S.' stronger extended deterrence will lead it to stepup military responses.

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South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile from Wonsan in Gangwon-do Province into the East Sea at around 10:48 a.m. Thursday. Seoul and Washington's military authorities are working to analyze the details of the missile. This is the first missile launch in eight days. The regime's last such provocation was carried out on November 9. Previously, in a statement signed by Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, North Korea gave a warning and denounced the recent agreement by South Korean, American and Japanese leaders to strengthen extended deterrence against Pyongyang. While repeatedly insisting that America's joint military drills with allies are a war exercise against the regime, Choe warned stronger anti-North Korea cooperation by the three nations will drive the Korean Peninsula situation into a more unpredictable state. This is the first official response the e communist state made to the trilateral agreement on stronger military cooperation, which was announced at the summit in Cambodia on Sunday. The North Korean foreign minister also said her country's military responses will intensify in proportion to Washington's provision of extended deterrence to allies. Warning of more grave and realistic threats, she also insisted that the U.S. will eventually realize that it is taking a gamble it will regret. Considering the North's hard-line responses to recent South Korea-U.S. military drills, Choe's statement is seen as a warning to maintain a tough stance against the trilateral military cooperation. Earlier in a propaganda outlet, North Korea strongly protested against the South Korean and American defense chiefs' statement saying the regime will come to an end if it launches nuclear attacks. Pyongyang called it a declaration of war and a massive provocation.